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Ecclesiastes – Author
Solomon not only fits the qualification of being the son of David (1:1), he also fits the other necessary qualifications (1 Kgs.3:5-14; 1 Kgs.10:14-25):
- Wise enough to keep his senses about him while experimenting (2:3; 1 Kgs.4:29-34)
- Rich enough to be able to afford all the experiments (2:4-8; 1 Kgs.4:21-28)
- Women enough to experiment with sex (2:8; 1 Kgs.11:3)
- Peaceful kingdom in order to have time to experiment.
This description is a reason conservatives believe Solomon to be the author. Solomon also had the qualifications necessary for such experimentation as found within this book: wisdom, riches, power, reputation, influence, honor, and time. All these were gifts from God, and yet Solomon, if nothing else, is the epitome of a man who wasted and abused God’s gifts.
Jewish Talmudic tradition supports this view but suggests Hezekiah’s scribes edited the text (cf. Prov.25:1)
Jewish tradition also suggests that while the Song of Solomon was written in Solomon’s youth, and Proverbs during his middle age, Ecclesiastes was composed towards the end of his life. This would harmonize with the book’s long history of experimentation, but also is a hint at what is many people’s hope – that Solomon repented in his old age of his God-forsaken life lived “under the sun.”
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